WT3
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WT3 topic #3
Discrete Math
Prof Gloag
Resolving Logical Paradoxes: Epimenides, Jourdain's Card, and the Barber Paradox
One of the earliest examples of a logical paradox is the "liar paradox," attributed to the ancient
Greek philosopher Epimenides the Cretan. Epimenides, a Cretan himself, stated, "All Cretans
are liars." If his statement is true, then all Cretans are indeed liars, including himself, making his
statement false. But if it's false, then not all Cretans are liars, implying that his statement is true.
This paradox challenges the notion of truth and self-reference.
Jourdain's card paradox, formulated by philosopher and logician Philip Jourdain, deals with the
concept of provability in formal systems. It involves a card with the statement "The sentence on
the other side of this card is true." If the statement is true, then the sentence on the other side
must be true as well, creating an infinite loop of truth. If it's false, then the statement on the other
side must be false, leading to a similar paradoxical situation.
The barber paradox is a classic self-referential paradox that arises from Russell's set theory. It
involves a town where the barber shaves all and only those who do not shave themselves. The
question then arises: Does the barber shave himself? If he shaves himself, he falls into the
category of those who do not shave themselves, but he cannot shave himself according to the
rule. If he doesn't shave himself, he must shave himself according to the rule. This contradiction
highlights the complexities of self-referential statements.
Examples:
sources: